Spandau Ballet

Recently, the band have managed to put their differences behind them and a reunion tour has been mentioned; however, the success of Martin Kemp's acting career means that plans remain on hold. Sadly, Jenifer was killed in an automobile accident in 1986 at the age of thirteen. The three non-Kemp members toured as a trio, but as Gary Kemp owned the rights to the name of Spandau Ballet, they had to go under the less-than-catchy moniker of 'Hadley, Keeble and Norman, ex-Spandau Ballet'. He is still married to Norma and lives on a ranch near Cotulla, Texas. As a result, Hadley in particular was left very short of money, and he ended up entertaining troops and taking part in the reality show Reborn in the USA. are avid team ropers and Strait hosts the annual George Strait Team Roping Classic. In the 1990s, Hadley, Keeble and Norman launched a failed court case against Gary Kemp for a share of royalties which they claimed they were due. He and George Jr.

Gary Kemp did a little more acting, appearing in a supporting role in the Kevin Costner hit The Bodyguard, and in 1996 released a critically praised solo album, Little Bruises. Strait enjoys fishing and riding motorcycles. Martin Kemp went on to land an acting role in the UK soap opera Eastenders, while Tony Hadley floundered trying to establish a solo career. In 2004, Strait topped the Astrodome attendance with 68,679 people coming to his rodeo concert at the larger stadium. The album bombed and Spandau Ballet — from whom Gary Kemp was already feeling estranged — split up for good. The rodeo event moved to Reliant Stadium in 2003. After a hiatus from recording during which the Kemps established themselves as credible actors in the gangster film The Krays, the band released Heart Like a Sky in 1989. The event set the record for paid attendance at the Astrodome with 68,266 people.

The title track was a big hit in the UK, but the album did nothing in America. Since 1983, Strait has often appeared at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and recorded his album For the Last Time: Live From the Astrodome the last time the rodeo was staged at the Astrodome in 2002. In 1986 Spandau Ballet signed to Epic Records and released Through the Barricades, which saw the band trying to move away from the pop/soul influences of True and Parade and more towards rock. He also appeared as himself in The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Grand Champion (2002). At the end of 1984, the band performed on the Band Aid charity single, with Hadley taking a prominent lead vocal role; and in 1985, they performed at the Wembley end of Live Aid. He had a bit part in The Soldier (1982) and starred in Pure Country (1992). Its opening single "Only When You Leave" became their last American hit. Strait has acted in two feature films.

But the followup, Parade (1984), was critically drubbed for failing to move the band's sound forward. He also holds the career record for Country Music Association (CMA) nominations with seventy-three. The album topped the charts on the both sides of the Atlantic and launched several hit singles such as "Gold" and the aforementioned title cut. As of late 2004, Strait has had a record 50 #1 country singles. It was at this point that Norman became the band's sax player. He was one of the best-selling country singers of the 1980s, and one of the few from that decade who survived the influx of pop-country singers like Garth Brooks in the early 1990s. The image changed too - the cossack outfits and make-up of New Romanticism (which was dying as a fad in 1983 anyway) had been replaced by smart suits and well-scrubbed faces. This was followed by "Down and Out" and then a whole series of #1 singles, beginning with "Fool Hearted Memory" in 1982 (see 1982 in music).

With newfound confidence and a cleaner, radio-friendly sound, Spandau Ballet finally broke into the mainstream with True (1983), an album whose title cut was a six-minute opus paying tribute to the Motown sound (and in some respects, Marvin Gaye). "Unwound" was his first single and his first Top Ten hit. It was a massive hit. It was also in 1981 that his second child, George Jr., was born. Horn also took the Diamond album track "Instinction" and gave it a bombastic dance remix that sounded not unlike the work he would later do for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Strait has stayed with MCA throughout his career. The followup album Diamond performed poorly, despite a big hit with "Chant No.1", and the band met with veteran producer Trevor Horn, who advised them on how to revamp their image and sound. In 1981, Strait went to Nashville, Tennessee to team with MCA and try a solo act.

This was followed by "The Freeze" and "Musclebound" and the well-received album Journeys to Glory. An operator of one of the bars the band had played had connections at MCA Records. The band eventually signed to Island Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", a British hit in 1980. While playing with the band at night, Strait managed a cattle ranch during the day. They began performing and generating positive buzz around London as the house band at the Blitz nightclub, which became regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion phenomenon called New Romanticism. In the late 1970s, the band recorded several singles in a Houston studio that were released under the Dallas, Texas based "D" record label, but the band ultimately failed (though they do still play as George Strait's touring band under the same name). The band were initially called 'The Makers', but changed their name after a visit to Berlin, the inspiration from graffiti on the walls of Spandau Prison. They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys.

Guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp and his brother, bassist Martin Kemp formed the band in 1979, with drummer John Keeble, lead vocalist Tony Hadley and Steve Norman, who initially played guitar but later switched to saxophone when the band changed musical direction. The band played honky tonks and bars around south and central Texas and as far east as Huntsville and Houston. As with their poppier rivals Duran Duran they 'broke America', albeit briefly. While attending SWTSU, he joined the Ace in the Hole Band. Initially inspired by a mixture of funk, synthpop and New Romantic, they eventually mellowed into a mainstream AOR pop act. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in agriculture. Spandau Ballet was a popular band of the 1980s. After leaving the army in 1975, Strait went back to school at Southwest Texas State University (SWTSU) in San Marcos, Texas.

While still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, a daughter, Jenifer in 1972. During the stint in the army, he began performing with an Army sponsored band, Rambling Country (who played off the base under the name Santee), when he was stationed in Hawaii. In 1971, he enlisted in the United States Army. They repeated their vows in a church in Texas a few weeks later.

After graduating from high school, Strait enrolled in college but dropped out and eloped to Mexico with his high school sweetheart, Norma. Strait counts country singers Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills and Hank Williams as his early influences. He began playing with a rock band in high school, but his preference turned to country music. His mother left the family taking his sister with her while he and his brother remained with his father.

When he was fourth grade, Strait's parents divorced. The Straits would leave Pearsall on the weekends and the summers to work at the family's 2,000 acre (8 kmē) cattle ranch outside Big Wells, Texas. His father, John, was a Junior High math teacher. Strait was born in Poteet, Texas and grew up in Pearsall, Texas.

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country singer. 27, 2004. Retrieved Aug. George Strait's Official Web Site (http://www.georgestrait.com/awards.asp).

"Awards". 27, 2004. Retrieved Aug. George Strait's Official Web Site (http://www.georgestrait.com/discography_main.asp).

"Discography". CMA - Male Vocalist of the Year (1985). CMA - Male Vocalist of the Year (1986). CMA - Album of the Year (Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind) (1985).

CMA - Entertainer of the Year (1989). CMA - Entertainer of the Year (1990). CMA - Album of the Year (Blue Clear Sky) (1996). CMA - Single of the Year (Check Yes or No) (1996).

CMA - Male Vocalist of the Year (1996). CMA - Album of the Year (Carrying Your Love With Me) (1997). CMA - Male Vocalist of the Year (1997). Strait Country (1981).

Strait From The Heart (1982). Right Or Wrong (1983). Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind (1984). Greatest Hits (1986).

Something Special (1985). #7 (1986). Merry Christmas Strait To You (1986). Ocean Front Property (1987).

II (1987). Greatest Hits Vol. If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin' (1988). Beyond the Blue Neon (1989).